The Melted Heart
by The Cotton Candy Kisses
Summary: [COMPLETED] [EPILOGUE ADDED] Ryan is broken hearted over Marissa. Who will he turn to? Who will it affect? Pairings: RyanSummer RyanSeth RyanMarissa Malex Sethimer Kandy ooer. Some slash, sexuality, swearing
1. The Pier

**A/N**: This happens a while after the Mallpisode. The Blaze of Glory never happened, and Trey never came, either. Marissa is skipping school. Malex is still together, but shakily. This is basically a little background on what is going on in the next few chapters.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it, blah blah blah. Don't sue me.

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The apartment stunk of beer and cigarette smoke and unwashed clothes. It was empty, dreadfully empty like a black hole, sucking everything into it. Marissa grimaced, holding a black trash bag tight in her chipping, manicured nails. She winced as she gingerly picked up the trash lying around, thoroughly disgusted. Alex was at work, leaving her spoiled girlfriend to tend to the house.

"Ew," she thought, quoting Summer. Summer. She hadn't seen her best friend in a while. She had been too busy cleaning and working. Marissa had forgotten what it was like to live the rich and spoiled life.

There was a knock at the door. It broke the silence as if it had picked it up and smashed it against the floor. Marissa leapt up, surprised. It was probably the NASCAR tattooed landlord. She peeked out the window and breathed a sigh of relief, unlocking the rusty cheap locks and letting the door creak open.

"Ryan. Hey. What are you doing here? Don't you have school?" Marissa tried to kick the worst of the trash under the sofa, and ran a finger through her dirty hair. The water had been shut off temporarily so she hadn't had a shower in a while. She was suddenly beyond humiliation about her current situation. She couldn't believe _Ryan _was seeing this. It was dreadful.

"Well, that's why I'm here. Its my lunch break, and the teachers have been asking about you, giving me all your homework that you've missed from the last week or so. So, I came to deliver them." Ryan couldn't help but let his eyes sweep the grungy apartment as he offered Marissa the stack of papers. There was a pink bra dangling off a chair. Four crushed beer cans that he could see littered around the table. An overflowing ashtray. Dirty clothes piled up, chip bags, a lonely shoe with a broken heel. Marissa was not meant to live like this. He knew it, she knew it, even Alex knew it, admitted it to herself right before she drifted to sleep, that this wasn't right for Marissa, that she should tell her to leave. But those thoughts are rarely remembered and even less heeded.

"Um. Thanks." Marissa hurriedly took the papers and cleared some space on the coffee table. "This… Its just…" There were no words to describe her current living situation. No excuses. Marissa couldn't even bare to invite him in.

"So, I mean, after lunch I only have Western Civ… I can easily skip it, I'm ahead anyways. Want to get out of here?" Ryan said tentatively. Immediately Marissa nodded her head, eager to leave the dump.

"Definitely. Let me just grab a purse. Um, why don't you wait outside?" She suggested as she departed. Ryan was more than happy to comply. He stepped down the few stone steps, and leaned against the car, running a hand through his hair. Marissa came out a few seconds later with a pink Coach purse, having pulled on a pink sweater and jeans, ballet flats, and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. The grease was less noticeable. What she had been wearing previously- tiny short shorts and a white tank top, were not appropriate for going out with _Ryan_. The love of her life Ryan. Her savior. But that was over now. She was with, sigh, Alex. Living with, sigh, Alex. But she liked Alex, a lot. Her and Ryan were definitely over.

"Where do you want to go?" Marissa asked when she sat in the car. Ryan turned to her and said, "Wherever you want to go."

Marissa laughed self-consciously. "Pier?" Ryan nodded in agreement, pulling out of the driveway in the Cohen's Range Rover.

Soon they were at the pier, the wind blowing back their hair as they chewed on Balboa Bars. They were having a nice conversation, and as they settled down onto a bench, Ryan really went into the deep end of the conversation pool.

"So, are you happy with Alex?" He asked, not looking at her but at the ocean throwing itself mercilessly against the aged and wooden columns of the pier. Marissa looked at him, insulted that he would even ask that. It wasn't his place! How dare he! But she stuffed down those emotions, because she knew Ryan just wanted her to be happy.

"Yes!" She said definitely. "Well… I'm happy with ALEX… not with… Well, you saw." She said guiltily, that she could provide a cleaner home for herself. She obviously couldn't take care of herself.

"Do you ever think about… us? Is what you have with Alex like what we had?" Ryan asked, diving deeper. He took Marissa's silence as a no. Really, she was thinking that what her and Ryan had was a dysfunctional relationship, and hers and Alex's was more functional, on a level.

She turned to say that, and realized Ryan's face was very close to hers. He touched her lips to hers, and they were suddenly kissing, a kiss full of longing from Ryan's end, and confusion from Marissa's. It tasted like chocolate ice cream. Then suddenly Marissa realized what she was doing and pulled away violently. It was a nice kiss- Ryan's kisses always were- but Marissa had nearly killed herself mentally to get over him. And she really liked Alex. She wasn't going to throw that away for another shot at her and Ryan's messed up relationship.

"What are you doing?" She demanded. Ryan looked bewildered. Obviously he thought this Pier Kiss would work magic like it did last time, post-Oliver. He opened his mouth to speak but said nothing. Marissa was sick of Ryan right now. She tossed the rest of her Balboa Bar in the trash and walked away, quickly. She realized that she had nowhere to go. Ryan had taken her here. The house was far away. And she couldn't turn up at school like this, dirty and unkempt. Eventually she wandered to The Bait Shop, to greet Alex with a long, passionate kiss, to make up for what she had done.

Ryan sat on the bench for a long time after Marissa had left. When he finally rose, he looked at his watch. He had missed Western Civ. completely, as well as soccer practice. It was nearly five o'clock. But he didn't care. Not only was Ryan's heart broken, the pieces had melted away. Ryan would always love Marissa. But to Marissa, Ryan was just another way to piss off her mom. Ryan rose, and drove back to the Cohen's house, going straight to the pool house. He opened the door to find someone already there.

"Hey…"


	2. The Pool House

**A/N**: This is right after the last chapter, if you haven't noticed. And I'm sort of writing this as I go, so I'm not really sure what pairings might pop up. Beware. Might have slash might not. :D R&R Don't be afraid to be mean in the reviews.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own The OC or any of the people in it. Don't sue me, etc. etc. etc.

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Summer stood up, straightening her shirt and skirt. She looked a little flustered.

"Hey. Sorry. I was with Seth, in here, and he went to go get something…" Noticing the look on Ryan's face, she added, "What's wrong?" Ryan shrugged, and started backing up.

"Nothing. I'm just going to go back into the house. Leave you and Seth here…" He stammered, reaching for the doorknob.

Summer stopped him quickly. "Marissa? What did she do?" She asked quietly, peeling Ryan's fingers off the doorknob. "Tell me."

"Its just… I… kissed her and she yelled at me. Ran off. I thought that she might… Never mind. Its nothing." Ryan said, afraid to look Summer in the eye. It was, after all, her best friend that she was talking about.

Summer sighed. Ryan deserved better than Marissa. "I'm sorry."

Ryan shrugged. "It's not your fault. Its mine. I shouldn't have assumed. I mean, she's still with Alex. Which apparently means more to her than what we ever had. Which apparently was nothing, in Marissa's eyes. You know, I loved her. I really did. I had to leave, you know? And I come back and I see her with D.J. and I find Lindsay and then, today when her relationship is falling apart I thought I might give us another chance, but Marissa didn't want to."

"Wow, Chino.

"What?"

"I've never heard you talk so much. That was Seth worthy." Ryan laughed at the look of amazement on Summer's face. It was a pretty painful laugh, like all of his misery was in it and it scratched at his throat when it came out. Summer touched Ryan's arm lightly, in a consoling way, feeling the defined muscles underneath his shirt.

"Marissa, she's gone a little crazy. I've seen her house, you have too. It's a mess. She obviously can't take care of herself. I mean, Marissa is my best friend and I love her, but you should just forget about her. You'll be able to find someone else soon. I mean, you are really hot." She said, grinning. Ryan smiled in return, sheepishly, and suddenly aware of how close he was to Summer, to her shiny brown hair and big chocolate eyes and her full red lips, and her dainty little hand on his arm.

Suddenly, those same red lips were against his for what seemed an eternity, until they heard Seth's light footsteps heading for the pool house. Summer pulled away sadly, and returned to her seat on the bed. Ryan was frozen, the memory of the kiss playing over and over. Seth swung open the door; beginning to say something when he realized Ryan was there.

"Hey man. Sorry about stealing your pool house. We can just leave if you want…" He said awkwardly. Messing around in your best friends bed? Kind of creepy. Creepier when you got caught, he thought, especially by the friend.

Summer stood up hurriedly. "I have got to go anyways. I'll see you in school. Both of you. Probably Seth more because… Anyways. I'll call you. Seth, I mean. I mean, why would I call Ryan?" She sensed she was beginning to ramble like Seth, and quickly walked out the door.

Seth shrugged, gave Ryan a long, questioning look, and followed her out the door. Ryan sat down on his bed, clutching his head. He couldn't believe what just happened. Had Summer kissed him? Really? The Summer Roberts? He couldn't let it happen again of course. Before, if he ever thought about how pretty Summer was, he thought of Marissa and Seth, who would both kill him if they found out how he thought of her. But now, Marissa didn't really matter to him. He burned her in his mind, how she had said she loved him and then broke his heart. Of course, he wouldn't really admit that she broke his heart, he was too masculine for that, but he knew that she had.

Ryan skipped dinner, staying in the pool house and studying. That night, he dreamed of Summer.

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Early the next morning, Ryan woke up to find Seth sitting in the chair he always occupied, reading the Arts and Leisure section, sipping his coffee. Ryan was more than a little disturbed.

"Have you been just sitting here while I slept?" Ryan asked in amazement as he stood up, heading for the bathroom. Seth shrugged.

"We have to talk. Summer told me what happened."

Ryan froze. Fear coursed through his veins. Not of Seth hurting him, but simply dropping him (though the geek probably wouldn't have much experience in that arena). Ryan loved having Seth as a friend, no matter how he acted. "Wh- what?"

"About how you kissed Marissa? Its okay man. And I have an idea how to get over her." Seth said, neatly folding his newspaper and placing it on the table next to him. The knot in Ryan's stomach loosened, and he turned to face the gangly kid.

"What? How?" He refused to say that he was already practically over Marissa, and that he now liked his best friend's girlfriend.

"You need to find someone new. Not a relationship. Just, you know. Embrace the Chino pimp inside of you, Ry. You know you want to." Seth said, placing his blue coffee mug on top of the newspaper.

Ryan sighed. "I don't really want to. There's no one that I'm really interested. They are all preppy little bitches."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Well then I will have to find you someone. It won't be easy, that's for sure, but I will! Your Chino pimp will be let out, because you know, I might find more than one, that would fit your tastes. Nice, huh? Now whose the pimp? Huh? Huh?" Ryan rolled his eyes at Seth and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door loudly.

Seth scoffed, and murmured to himself, "Bet he's taking a nice _cold_ shower."

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It was around five o'clock that Seth entered the pool house, the yearbook and a list of names in hand. Ryan looked up from his bio textbook, only to look back down. Not Pimp Seth again, he thought wearily.

The Jewish kid sat down in his chair, and looked at Ryan until he looked up. "Ryan, I know you aren't the biggest fan of this whole meaningless hook-up to get over Marissa idea, but just hear me out. I have a list of girls that might interest you, as well as pictures, and the fact that they are interested. It seems you have collected quite a harem, Mr. Atwood."

Ryan rolled his eyes, but closed his textbook at sat up as Seth joined him on the bed, opening his yearbook to the first person on his list.

"Marie Weisman?"

"No."

"Allie Alfanto?"

"No."

"Lauri Anania?"

"No…"

"Leah Blekhar?"

"No…"

"Kelli O'Donald?"

"No."

"Okay here's someone really hot… Alexandra Sheller?"

"Mmm… No."

"Okay, obviously you don't want any girls in our school. I have _one _more option though." Seth said, looking Ryan in the eye seriously.

Expecting another underfed, spoiled preppy girl from Orange County, Ryan asked, "Who?" exasperatedly.

"Me."

Ryan laughed, thinking Seth was joking, but the laugh died quickly when he saw Seth wasn't laughing. This was an interesting turn of events.

Before Ryan could say anything Seth was kissing him, a long, sweet kiss. Ryan's arms, which were supporting him this whole time, gave out due to pure shock and Seth rolled on top of him. Seth kissed him for what seemed eternity, until they heard footsteps outside. Seth leapt up like a leaping leaper, going back to the yearbook with feigned interest. Ryan sat up, and shakily opened his bio textbook, just before Summer jumped through the door.

Summer, right. The girl he liked. Girl. Girl, he liked.

"Ryan, Sandy said Seth went in here…" Summer saw Seth, whose face was still bright red, and skipped over to him, collapsing next to him and pulling him into a deep kiss, as if to show Ryan that what they had wasn't as important as what her and Seth had. Seth seemed freaked out that he had been making out with two people within the span of three seconds, barely kissing back.

Finally what was torturous for everyone ended, and Summer looked at the list. "Still trying to whore Ryan out? Hmmm… Marie has bad breath, Allie's stupid, Lauri is a slut, Leah is cheating on her water polo playing boyfriend, Kelli has fake boobs, and Alexandra wears FAKE Jimmy Choos."

Ryan laughed, momentarily forgetting what had just happened. "Quite a harem I have, huh, Seth? Good job, really." Seth just turned a brighter shade of red and continued looking at the yearbook.

Over his bowed back, Summer mouthed something. "Did you tell him?"

"No!" Ryan mouthed back.

"Mistake!" Summer replied.

Ryan nodded. Summer smiled. "Our little secret," She said out loud, but Seth didn't seem to notice. Ryan smiled at Summer, afraid for anyone to find out what he had been doing today and the day before.

I'll just forget about both, Ryan thought. Seth and Summer are happy with each other. I mean, I don't even have to forget about Seth because he wasn't even in my mind. I like girls. I like Summer, in fact. Seth was just trying to be nice. And that's it. Who cares if Alexandra wears fake Jimmy… whatever it is… She's hot; I'll go out with her. Marissa will be jealous. No, more importantly, Summer will be jealous. Which will be good. Because I like girls. Girls like Summer and Alexandra and used to be Marissa. But now Marissa likes girls too...

After a while Seth and Summer stopped fighting over girls in the yearbook and retired to Seth's room, probably. Ryan was left alone, with the yearbook. He flipped to Alexandra's picture again. Yeah, it would work.


	3. The Grill

**A/N**: Thanks so0o much for reviewing, those few people who have stooped to reading my pathetico story. Anyways, I'm just sort of writing this randomly, so if you have any ideas, feel free to drop them. Unless you want me to continue in this random, rambling, mack-full way of writing Review. Please. If you want. :)

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It was early morning and unbelievably quiet. Ryan stood up, rubbing his eyes, and pulling on a shirt as he walked out of the pool house and into the kitchen. It had been three days and sixteen hours since he had kissed Summer. Two days and twelve hours since Seth had kissed him.

Ryan had spoken a total of twenty-three words outside of class. One was to Seth, when he had decided to babble, so Ryan had turned off his ears as he had trained himself to do in situations like this (well not like, his best friend kissing him and then not talking to him but Seth rambling in general) and just nodded along. Finally, when Seth seemed to be done, Ryan said, "okay" and went back to reading his bio textbook.

A wave of relief rushed through him as he stepped into the kitchen to find it deserted. He reached for a sesame bagel quickly, afraid that Sandy was watching from somewhere to come and snatch it. Well, maybe that was a little paranoid, Sandy had only done that four times.

With the bagel resting in his stomach, Ryan relaxed in his chair, flipping vacantly through a Rivera magazine that was sitting on the counter. At the sound of footsteps he quickly stood, and scurried out the door, and glad he did, because through the blinds he could see it was Seth. It looked like he had just rushed in, trying to catch Ryan off-guard. They hadn't said a word to each other since Ryan said "okay", and only because Ryan was avoiding him. He saw Seth snap comically, and then head for the kitchen doors.

Ryan looked around frantically, then dove behind the grill, but ended up banging his head against the marble. He yelped and held his head, trying to see if it was bleeding. He had hit it pretty hard.

"Stealth, man. Really stealth." Seth appeared out of nowhere. He must have been taking hints from Sandy. "So man, are you ever going to stop ignoring me? No? Okay well then I'm going to talk. I know you weren't listening last time so listen this time, because I've practiced and I think I've improved the monologue quite a bit, you know, tightened some loose ends-"

"Seth." Ryan interrupted, in the same tone that Summer did when she meant "get on with it you crazy mumbling freak".

"Yea okay. So. Um. I'm sorry? I think. Actually, I know. I am sorry. For the whole, pool house debacle. And. Maybe we can just forget it? You know, I was just a little tipsy probably, off like… air… and… a Sprite- but that's not the point! You see. I'm not- I mean, it's not like…" Throughout this Ryan still sat amused, watching Seth stutter and hand-gesture through his speech, which obviously had not gone the way he planned.

"Seth. What are you trying to say?" Ryan asked curtly. He really wanted to get some Advil. He would probably have to get more after this mess that Seth was unburdening.

"Okay. This is. What I am trying to say. Is. Let's just forget that it happened, okay? I'm not… You know… And I know you aren't. And it was just a weird, awkward…" He drifted off, trying to find a word to finish the sentence. "thing. A weird, awkward thing. It won't happen again. So let's just forget it. And let's NOT tell Summer- she already thinks I'm… you know."

Ryan nodded slowly, trying not to upset his head. "Okay. Good. So I'm going to go." Seth grabbed his arm.

"Wait man. Just… Say something, okay? You've said about ten words to me since… The incident." Ryan just looked at Seth's hand touching his arm. So did Seth. He abruptly let go, but Ryan tried to shake it off.

"This shouldn't be this weird. I mean you should be able to touch me. I mean, not _touch _me but you know. Okay I'm feeling a little too like you right now, so I'm going to go get some painkillers." He said, heading for the pool house. He heard Seth yell something at his back. What was he screaming about now? Oh.

"I hope you just stay away from Tijuana, if you know what I mean, man, and I think you do."

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Summer's silver car pulled into the driveway of the Cohen's house. She looked around sneakily, listening for the tell-tale signs of Seth's existence- incessant babbling and the Playstation making light saber noises. She was pretty sure he was gone for a sailing lesson but you could never be too safe with Cohen men. They just pop up everywhere.

She snuck into the backyard, being very "stealth", she could hear Seth's voice saying, as she neared the pool house and swung open the door.

"Ryan? I need to…ahh! Oh, you aren't totally naked." Ryan was standing in the middle of the room in mere boxers. He turned red and grabbed a pair of pants and pulled them on quickly.

Summer smiled sweetly. "Come on Ryan, I've seen you in a bathing suit, relax it up, okay?" This just made Ryan turn even redder.

"Summer, this is weird enough without me being half-naked. I mean, what happened the other day…" He drifted off, not wanting to ramble like Seth again. Summer dropped her purse, and locked the door behind her.

"That's what I'm here to talk about…well not talk exactly..." She said quietly, gliding over to him and pushing him lightly with one hand onto the bed that she had once shared with Seth. She fell on top of him, and kissed him deeply. Ryan didn't kiss back, but slid out from under her.

"What about Seth?" He asked, breathless. Summer winced visibly, but then smiled sweetly, climbing back on top of him as she spoke.

"I love Seth. But he doesn't… satisfy me. I know you can…" She kissed him harder, and pulled him on top of her. This time Ryan did kiss back.

All of a sudden he heard a door slam shut and Seth's voice complain about Larry skipping his lesson without warning. Apparently Summer heard too, and leaped up faster than lightening, grabbing her purse and smoothing down her hair, breathing deeply.

"Oh my god, Ryan! Think of an excuse, quick!" She whispered, hitting him on the shoulder as he lay stupidly on the bed still. He paused for a second, then leapt up and opened the door to a still-complaining Seth. And then the complaining stopped as he saw Summer standing as nonchalantly as she could next to the bed.

"Summer? What. What are you? What? WHAT?" His voice slowly went higher and higher as the confusion in his voice increased. Summer smiled, and hurried over to him, tugging her shirt down nervously and pecking him on the cheek.

"I just came to see you sweetie! I totally forgot about your sailing lesson, which Ryan here was informing me of. Yes. So, I got to go because I also forgot my schedule. I have an appointment with Burke Williams. So, bye. Seth. Ryan. See you later." She nodded decisively at the last word and scurried out of the house.

Seth shook his head in confusion, paused for a moment, and then kept talking. "So, Ryan. There is a party tonight. That girl… the hot one that was into you, she's going to be there. It's at her beach house. So I thought we'd head out like nine- wait man. Why aren't you wearing a shirt? Never mind, I don't want to know, pretend I didn't say that. So nine. See you then."

Ryan smiled briefly as Seth walked away, then closed the door, to put on a shirt probably.


	4. The Beach House Party

A/N: Thanks to the reviewers... again. You guys rock my socks off... :D Also, this might have some suggestive-ish-ness, and also Marissa bashing. Because I hate that selfish bitch. Don't read if you don't like, but flames are always lovely to read. :)

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The sound of a beeping horn echoed through the house premises. It was coming from Summer's shiney silver convertable, looking as if it had been bought yesterday instead of a few long weeks ago. The beeping continued mercilessly, until a bedraggled looking Seth ran out the door and pulled Summer's hand off the horn.

"Will you _please _not make that sound, its _really _obnoxious. I'll go get Ryan. Now you stay here and try to fight your beeping addiction. Hey if I said that on Jerry Springer people would think you were a sex addict. Because of the beep. You know how they beep out words? Like, so they would think I was saying 'fight your fucking addiction' - " The high-pitch of Seth's voice seemed directly connected to how much sense his words were making - and right now his voice was very high. Summer just stared at him icily. Seth smiled sweetly and ran off to snatch Ryan.

In fifteen minutes the three entered Alexandra Sheller's beach house, which looked eerily similar to Holly's. If you catch my drift. And I think you do. Seth and Summer disappeared almost immediately, leaving Ryan to busy himself grabbing a beer and looking for his would-be hook-up. He looked through the bikini clad girls dancing and the stoners in the corner, most of them already passed out, an alcoholic smelling liquid pouring around them from many knocked-over red plastic cups.

Suddenly someone came up behind him, and Ryan turned to see another scantily-clad girl, in a bright pink bikini top and shorts, with very blonde hair and very blue eyes. She smiled at him seductively, taking his beer and taking a swig. Ryan smiled. This must be her- Alexandra.

"This your place?" He asked off-handedly, but he knew that it was. She nodded, but didn't say anying, and even if she wanted to, by the scent of her breath it would probably be strange and slurred. Ryan finished off his beer, and grabbed another one. He would have to be fairly tipsy to do this.

"So... I've sheen you around Ryan." Alexandra said lamely. Ryan nodded, chugging the second beer, and decided that was definately not strong enough if he was going to sleep with some random Orange County ho.

Four very full cups of vodka later, Ryan found himself with on a bed. It was very soft and squishy. It probably would be good for bouncing. That would be fun! But then he realized jumping on a bed with a girl attached to his mouth would probably be futile.

Alexandra didn't seem to want to waste any time. She peeled Ryan's shirt off deftly as his half-numb fingers fumbled with the strings on her bikini top. She pushed his hands away and tore it off herself, at the same time digging her tounge into his throat like she was trying to reach his appendix. Her hands roamed down his cheast and to the zipper on his pants.

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Fourty-five minutes later, Ryan stepped out of the room, Alexandra hot on his heels. He turned to say something, but she just shrugged like she did this at every drunken beach house party she had. Which she probably did, being a random Orange County ho. She started stepping away, then turned around, and pushed Ryan against the door, giving him one last deep kiss, before disappearing into the crowd of girls that looked just like her.

Suddenly someone else was at his side, hitting his arm. Ryan turned and received one of these blows to his face. He leapt away drunkenly, grabbing onto the counter to steady himself, slowly turning his head. It looked like someone familiar. Oh, Summer. He took a step back, trying to get away from her but just ended up falling back, suddenly appreciating the feeling of the carpet, nice and soft and squishy but not as squishy as the bed.

"What the fuck do you think you were doing with that whore Alexandra Sheller? You are supposed to be with _me_." She hissed selfishly, and obviously she had not abstained from drink either. Ryan looked up at her, dazed.

"So you can fuck me and Seth but I can only fuck you? Not that we have, but knowing _us _we will." And then something very strange happened. Ryan giggled. And the world had a moment of silence in its honor. But back to the story.

"Stupid ass. Stupid ass. Alexandra is such a skank! Why would you sleep with her, stupid ass?" Now Summer fell over too, and giggled, but that wasn't as strange or twisted, obviously. Ryan grabbed her arm and pulled her close as Summer continued to giggle, her dark bangs twisting with Ryan's blonde ones when they met.

He kissed her in a way that he thought was gentle but was really sort of bumbling, but Summer didn't care because she, too was rather bumbling as I so elegantly put it. They didn't hear Seth's slightly slurred voice draw nearer.

"I just saw Summer and Ryan a second ago..."

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A/N: No I'm not that mean to end it there, leaving you deep in the thicket of suspense as to whether Seth saw them or not and what he did. I guess I will continue and give you a nice loooong chapter so you will forgive me for not updating for a week during which I will be on vaca baby... So have a nice long chapter. Don't spend it all in one place!

A/N 2: Yes! Ryan got some ass! You know we only know of one definate time that he had sex in two years. I am just so merciful for Ryan's needs. ;)

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Ryan woke up with a splitting head ache. Slowly he rose from his bed and trudged into the bathroom, looking in the slightly smudged mirror, inspecting his black eye.

He couldn't believe it really, that Seth had _punched _him. And it wasn't even a weak punch. Ryan had stood up to defend his and Summer's honor and the next thing he knew Seth's fist was colliding into his face, hard. It didn't hurt so much any more than the other times he had had a black eye, so he knew Seth hadn't snapped his cheekbone or anything, though he had probably pretty close.

Ryan's blue eyes slid down his face to his red, slightly swollen cheek where Marissa had slapped him. Four times. Hard. Now he knew how Luke felt. But he was livid about this poor cheek, because it was _Marissa _who didn't want to be with _him_. She had _no _right to be mad at him. But of course you can't hit a girl. Or a Seth, for that matter.

Very gingerly he returned to the bedroom of his pool house and pulled on some clothes. He found Seth sitting at the counter, eating dry cereal. Ryan's favorite cereal. It had been a new box- but now the contents were spilled across the floor. Ryan was very near to laughing, but figured he rather not. It would only be throwing salt on his wound.

Gingerly, he made his way around the massive cereal spill and out the front door, before Seth could say anything to make Ryan feel any worse than he did already. He collapsed onto the front steps, and fumbled for his cell phone, which flew out of his grasp and tumbled down the stairs. Quickly he grabbed it, made sure it wasn't completely ruined, and then held down the number eight, speed dialing Summer.

"Hello?" She said distractedly, like he was interrupting something very important. Ryan though he could hear The Valley Season One in the background but wasn't sure.

"Hey, Summer. It's Ryan."

"Oh. Ryan, I was thinking, maybe we shouldn't talk or anything because of what happened last night, I mean, Seth and Marissa are so pissed at me, and I don't think we should make it worse."

"Summer. I got a black eye and a swollen cheek for this. Us. So let's not not talk."

"You don't talk anyway! But... fine..." Summer sighed loudly, and Ryan heard the TV being paused in the background.

"Good."

"Good."

"So?"

"So what?"

"What do you, you know, want to like, do?"

"I don't know."

"Okay."

"You could come here and let me paint your toes and amuse me with your quick wit, because the people who used to do those things are no longer talking to me."

"You paint Marissa's toes?"

"What?"

"That's really..."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"Okay. So are you coming over?"

"Sure. Fifteen minutes."

"Sure."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Even for Ryan, who was never really a fan of the telephone, thought that might be the awkwardest phone conversation ever. What was he even thinking calling Summer? He would go over there and, what? Try on clothes? Make her listen to emo bands? He didn't think Summer would want to make out after this, and thats basically what he did with Marissa. And Lindsay - but with the latter he also studied physics. He wondered if Summer was into physics. He had a feeling the answer was no.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0

At Summer's doorstep, he quickly rang the doorbell before he could chicken out and run away. A minute of muffled movement and Summer was there, smiling forcedly. His smile copied hers. They made their way upstairs, where, for what felt like eternity, they sat in silence on Summer's very pink bed, when Summer decided to take action.

Ryan watched Summer crawl over to him, and push him down against the bed, noticing its squishyness. Hesitantly she pressed her lips againts his for a moment, and then pulled back. Ryan was baffled, but guiltily happy, as Seth's face flashed before his eyes for the quickest second before Summer kissed him again, her tongue licking his lips. He parted them quickly, and flipped her over, pushing his tongue gingerly into her mouth, exploring it. And then everything seemed to slow down, like in those cheesy movies, as someone opened the door, and Ryan regretted the decision to stay in the O.C. where he would be mentioned everywhere in fanfics, the only place where this could happen.

Marissa's voice rang out, in a mixture in a scream and a growl. She dug her fingers in Ryan's shirt and pulled him viciously off Summer, who looked anything but guilty, more along the lines of irritated, like a fly was buzzing loudly in her ears.

"What the _fuck_? Ryan, what the _fuck_? I thought you loved _me! _ME, Ryan, not the two biggest whores in Orange County. Fuck, I mean, can't you do better than _Alexandra Sheller _and her?" Marissa spoke the last word with so much contempt Ryan wouldn't have been surprised if Summer burst into flames or was suddenly attacked by a flock of bees. Or a pack of bees. Oh, a swarm. Now I remember and I'm too lazy to delete the rest. Deal, bitch. I love you.

"Marissa? May I enlighten you a little bit to my life for the past week-ish? Okay, I kiss you, you pull away, saying your with Alex. So I hook up with Summer, which I get a black eye and a swollen face for, and now you are _jealous_?" Ryan asked, his face flushing in the parts that weren't already red from being slapped repetitively.

"Ryan! I always loved you! Sorry for being a little guilty that I was making out with my ex-boyfriend when I have a girlfriend! You should have _waited _instead of having sex with Sheller and this bitch!" Marissa was beginning to scream. Summer stood up, and finally decided to do something to stop the hatred from ruining her fung shui. Or worse, her hair.

Carefully she grabbed Marissa's arm and began to tug her towards the door, saying something soothingly. Ryan was left in the room. As soon as he heard the girls heading for the door, he scurried out, slipping out the back door, running round the front to see Marissa's car driving off and Summer returning to her room. That girl must be like magic to ward off an angry anorexic.

Ryan leapt into the car, and sped off. He would have felt guilty, but he was sort of maxed out.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0

Seth was waiting at the door. He looked angry, but not quite as angry as when he had first seen the makings of Summeryan. Ryan stepped out of the gar waringly, but he didn't know why he was being so careful- he could knock out Seth with a punch, but that kid was a mystery. Before last night, Ryan never would of believed that he could give anyone a black eye, let alone his macho foster brother from the wrong side of the tracks.

"Hello." Seth said coldly, and motioned with his head that Ryan should follow him into the kitchen. Ryan obeyed, dociely bowing his head. When they reached the kitchen, Ryan noted that the cereal had been cleaned up. Probably Seth had realized how pathetic cereal spilling was and realized a new and more satisfying way of revenging his broken heart.

"Ryan, let's talk. Man to man. About, oh I don't know, the way you heartlessly-"

"Seth, I'm sorry okay, you can have Summer! She doesn't want me." Ryan lied, though maybe Summer wouldn't be too keen on him after he had run away without saying good bye after she had defended him from a very skinny rhino.

"No. Its not about me and Summer, that just stung a little bit. What about... _us_?"

Ryan had not expected this.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0

**A/N**: Not as bad of a cliff hanger, you must agree. Now enjoy that, and review. Reviewing will give you fresh breath without the intense flavor! New chapter when I get back. Leave requests/suggestions/questions/dilemas/paradoxes if you have them. :)


	5. The Couch

**A/N**: Back! Enjoy! Kinda short, but I'm sort of dead. Just want to tide you guys over until I have a spurt of inspiration. Suggestions/comments/paradoxes/dilemmas/flames/etc always welcome.

**Disclaimer: **Even if I _did _say I owned the OC, would you believe me? Don't sue, don't own it, you know the drill...

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"Um. What. Wait. What?" Ryan stammered out. A flash of Seth kissing him passed through his head, but for some reason it didn't make him feel as strange as he did before.

"You know, we're friends, right? How could you do that to me?" Seth said, collapsing on a stool and taking a swig of what looked like his mom's vodka.

"You think getting drunk will solve this, Seth?" Ryan reprimanded, reaching for the vodka, only to find himself drinking it as well.

"Yeah well, what else to do? It's a moot point, my friend. We might as well get drunk, play strip Playstation Two and forget the past." Seth said, grabbing the drink back and sipping it.

Ryan found himself smiling. "Alright. But not strip Playstation, that would be kind of creepy."

"I couldn't agree more."

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Ryan wasn't sure exactly how much Seth and he had drunk. He did remember, however, finishing the bottle of vodka, and starting to go through bottles of beer, wine, scotch, whisky. It was amazing how much alcohol was in the house. Ryan absently turned an empty bottle with his finger. Seth was lying on the floor, looking a little green.

Suddenly Ryan felt fingers on his shirt, and was half-aware of falling onto the carpet next to Seth, whose eyes looked freakishly glazed.

"Ryan? We're buddies, right? Pals? Friends? Amicae? Freunde? Amigos? Amis? Compadres?" He slurred, still holding onto the back of Ryan's shirt.

"Yeah man. Totally. Awesome. Wicked. Friends."

"Yeah, so why can't you just fucking accept that I'm in love with you?" Seth asked exasperatedly, unaware of what he was saying.

"You're in love with me?"

"Yes. Since forevvverr… hahaha. Its funny, isn't it? But you like girls, that's what Luke told me." Seth said, falling to his side on the floor, releasing Ryan from his death grip on his shirt.

"You told _Luke_?" The absolute strangeness of this situation was sobering Ryan up.

"Yeah, when I was in Portland. It sort of just, fell out, you know. But he was cool, you know, with the shoes on the feet and his dad… He was like; you gotta get over him, because Ryan likes girls only he's a macho macho man. Or something."

Just then Seth fell into a dead sleep.

Ryan sighed, and slid onto the couch, curling up with his back to his best friend. This was getting a little creepy.

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The blonde haired boy woke up with a splitting head ache, and painfully aware of two major things. One, Seth told him he loved him. Two, he had to get rid of these bottles before the Cohen's came home from Palm Springs tonight.

He leapt up, avoiding Seth's still-sleeping body, and grabbed as many bottles as he could, carrying them into the kitchen and throwing them into the green recycling bin that was used to a small extent. He poured them in, thankful that today was garbage day and they had road-side pickup for recyclables. Hopefully he wasn't too late.

With the green bin overflowing, Ryan made his way out to the curb, and threw them down beside the trash cans. The sun was just creeping up, the light stretching out across the asphalt. Ryan smiled for a moment, blissful from the beauty, then returned to the house, to fall down on the nearest soft object and go back to sleep.

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What seemed like only seconds after he fell asleep, Ryan felt someone shaking him awake violently. Without opening his eyes, Ryan shoved them away with all his might, and buried his face further in the pillow. The person didn't relent, and slowly Ryan opened his eyes, to see Seth peering over him. Without a greeting, Seth started in.

"Man, I am so sorry about that. When we were drunk. I didn't mean it. Well I did, but we can just forget it, you know. You aren't… like that. I don't know if I am but I know it would be better if you forgot it." Ryan sat up, sensing the panic in his friend's voice.

"Seth, you're a really… interesting… person. Everything you say just adds to your… uniqueness." He said quietly. "But you know, if I was going to date a guy, it would be you. In the least strange way I can say that."

Seth laughed, and smiled. "Okay. We're cool?" Ryan nodded. Seth stood to walk away, but then Ryan caught his arm, and pulled him back. Seth looked at him with one eyebrow raised. He obviously was just as confused as Ryan.

"Seth. I can't… I don't…" He began in a quiet voice. Seth nodded. He understood. Ryan understood. However, their bodies didn't seem to understand as they became closer, and their lips met, carefully, suspiciously.

Seth found himself lying on top of Ryan, exploring the inside of his mouth with his tongue. Suddenly the door burst open, Kirstin and Sandy laughing and swaying, dragging their bags and calling out.

"Seth! Ryan! We got home early from… Oh my god." Kirstin's voice rang out as she stood frozen on the stairs. Ryan leapt up, knocking Seth to the floor. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead closed it, smiled nervously, and edged out of the room.

Seth stood up, massaging his temples, and he did speak. "Okay, mother, father, I'm not going to even talk about this. My manager told me not to give any interviews, and I don't want any press on this, so you'll just have to make due with your imaginations. Not too imaginative, though, you dirty minxes." With that, he also abandoned the room, heading up to his own.

Kirstin and Sandy stood in silence for a long time.

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**A/N: **hahahahahahaha… you know, when I was writing this, I was thinking: who should catch Ryan and Seth snogging for England? Summer? Marissa? Julie Cooper? Nearly Dead Caleb? Speaking of which, I really should add him in somewhere, I love that dude. So I thought, nothing more embarrassing than your parents catching you making out. Especially when it's another guy. And also, your adopted brother. Fun fun fun. And now I have to figure out what the hell to make Kirstin and Sandy think, how to mortify Ryan more, and also, how to incorporate Caleb, the coolest dude of all time, except for Dan from One Tree Hill, who is simply the pinnacle of evil.  So as Grady Bridges so poetically put it, Latro!


	6. The Tale of Two Bedrooms

**A/N**: Not much to say really… O.o Gracias amigos for reviewing. A tree is planted for every review you… review.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the O.C. Don't rub it in.

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Marissa flopped back on the dirty couch, idly staring at the pile of homework that Ryan had dropped off a week ago. She wondered where he was, what he was doing. _Who _he was doing. It still stung that he was with Summer, but she knew that was bad. She shouldn't care, she had a girlfriend. A girlfriend that was going to be home soon and ask her why the dishes weren't washed, why the trash wasn't taken out, in a calm voice that hid her true feelings.

On cue, the door creaked open, and Alex stepped into the house. She looked around at the scene. Marissa, curled up on the ugly yellow sofa, nudging a pile of papers with her toe, the trash cans overflowing almost more than the sink.

"Marissa, babe, why didn't you take out the garbage or do the dishes?" Alex asked politely, her weariness with this situation seeping into her words. Marissa looked around guiltily.

"I'm sorry Alex, really, it's just…" Marissa was running out of excuses. The real excuse was, she couldn't do work, she had never done work, and deep down, she thought that she shouldn't have to do work.

Alex collapsed next to her on the couch, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "It's alright. It's been a… hard week." She said quietly. Marissa knew Alex was thinking of when she had come home in a blind fury late one night, half drunk, screaming something about Ryan and Summer. Neither of them had brought it up.

"Thanks," Marissa murmured back quietly, kissing her lightly. Alex smiled against her girlfriend's lips, pulling her in, making the kiss deeper, and then pulled back lightly.

"So, have you found a job?" She asked softly in between kisses.

Marissa yanked away suddenly. "Are you tired?" She asked innocently.

"What?" Alex said, dumbfounded.

"Well, I'm going to go… lie down." Marissa said, winking slightly and slithering out the door. Alex sat quietly for a moment. Whenever Alex tried to talk about jobs or chores or money, Marissa would want to lie down. Which meant, have sex. But Marissa was too classy to say that out loud.

"What's a girl to do?" Alex asked exasperatingly, following Marissa into the bedroom.

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A silver convertible slid into the Cohen's driveway. Summer slinked out of the car and walked carefully around the house to the pool house. She was wearing her best come hither outfit. Or really, she just called it her 'fuck me' outfit. She wore it a few times with Seth. Once was in a restaurant. They asked them to please never come back.

Summer opened the door of the pool house silently, and was about to go in when she heard voices.

"So, me and Kirstin were wondering, _what the hell_?"

"It was… n-nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing."

"Well, that's what it was…"

Summer heard Sandy sigh loudly.

"Well, we'll finish this conversation later. Obviously you aren't going to answer any questions right now. But you will." Summer leapt clumsily out of the way, into the shadow that the pool house had cast.

She heard Sandy muttering to himself. "Making out… plain view… practically brothers…" Summer gaped pointlessly in the shadows. Obviously, Sandy and Ryan were talking about him making out with someone in plain view… Someone who was practically his brother. And unless Summer was extremely out of the loop, that person had to be _Seth_.

Summer waited for a few moments, and then walked boldly into the pool house. Ryan was sitting on the edge his bed, his knees drawn to his chest, his face buried in his hands.

"Wow, Ryan, depressed much?" She asked loudly. Ryan leapt up, look around desperately. Summer realized how totally fallen apart Ryan was. His hair was messed up, his eyes red, his clothes looking wrinkled and stained. She frowned slightly.

"Ryan, are you okay?" She asked anxiously, forgetting the plan that she had come here with- make him hard and dump his ass.

He nodded wordlessly. "Uh, you look, wow." He said finally as he collapsed back on his bed. She sat down next to him, and brushed his hair from his eyes.

"Hot, I know. But, Ryan, what the hell is going on? Sandy was muttering about you making out with someone. Someone you were practically brothers with." She asked, trying to disguise the eagerness from her voice. This might be the juiciest gossip of the year. The nerd and the sexy loner were boning.

"Oh. Don't tell anyone, please? Especially Marissa. God. I don't know what happened. It was like, me and Seth were talking… about you… and then we decided it was a wash, and so we got drunk, and all of a sudden we were making out." He said quietly, refusing to look her in the eye.

There was a moment of complete silence, and then Summer was cracking up. "Wow, you and Seth. So are you gay?" She continued to laugh.

Ryan glared at her. "It's… it's not funny. Stop laughing!" But her laughter was too infectious, and soon they were both laughing. Eventually they stopped, and there was another moment of silence, and all of a sudden they were kissing.

Ryan rolled on top of her, his hands exploring her body, sliding her shirt off, peeling off his wife beater.

"Still think I'm gay?" He asked, suavely unhooking her bra. Summer smiled and shook her head, pulling him back to kiss her.And then, he leapt up. She looked at him strangely.

"I'm locking the door." He said with a smile, sliding back onto the bed, pulling her on top of him, her hands on the zipper of his pants, dragging them off purposefully.

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Summer woke up in Ryan's bed with the feeling that she had made a terrible decision. She looked at naked sleeping Ryan with a confused anguished. Why was she so sad? It had been great. But strangely, she wished she had been with Seth. Shaking her head sadly, Summer gathered her clothes and slid them on. As an afterthought, she grabbed one of Ryan's sweatshirts and pulled it over her head. This outfit should not be used flippantly.

Ryan slept on. Summer desperately wanted to get out of this pool house without talking to him, but she didn't want him to wake up with her gone without explanation. Suddenly she saw a pad of paper and a pen next to the phone. She knew it was horrible, but she couldn't talk to Ryan face to face.

_Ryan- I know that its horrible that I just wrote you a note, but I can't talk to you. Last night was amazing. But it was sooooo wrong. Let's just call it a one night stand and be friends. Please don't hate me. –Summer_

Oh, and by the way, I took one of your sweatshirts.

Satisfied with her letter, Summer slipped out, carrying her stilettos in her hands. She padded to the front door, and rang the doorbell. After a long silence, Seth swung the door open.

"Summer. Hey." He said glumly. He looked almost as disheveled as Ryan. Summer looked around carefully, and then stepped into the house.

"Seth. In the spirit of honesty, I'm going to be. Honest. Alright. I know you hate me for being with Ryan, and you're allowed to, especially since I slept with him, and I know that you made out with him, but… When I was with Ryan, all I could think about was you. You're always with me, Seth. You're like… a bad habit. Or bacteria. I know that doesn't sound good but…I think I love you…" She stopped slowly, looking at him straight in the eye.

Seth looked around shiftily. "You know I made out with Ryan?"

"That's the thing you're thinking about? God, Seth." She smiled at him. After a long moment of more shifty eyes, Seth smiled back, and hugged her close to him.

"I love you too, Summer."


	7. The Beach

**A/N**: Less hooking up in this chapter, if that's alright with my lovely reviewers! I love you all dearly. And I will answer your requests if you request them. Malex last chapter, Ryssia this chapter… Pretty short, I'm sorry. Please forgive me, I just wrote a really long chapter for my other story, Try Not to Fall in Love… I promise I will get you guys a long chapter as soon as I have another Strawberry and Crème from Starbucks- those things burst my imagination. 

Also: This is either the last chapter or the second-to-last chapter. If it's the last, I'll post an epilogue-type.

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Ryan woke up eventually by the pale golden sunlight filtering in through the half-closed blinds. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to wake up and have the night with Summer be over.

With one gentle arm, Ryan reached out for her- or at least where she had been before. Confused, he opened one eye, squinting against the bright light, looking around for the girl he had spent the night with. But she wasn't there.

Ryan leapt up, running around the pool house like a chicken with its head cut off. Eventually he spied the white piece of paper with black markings, sitting forlornly on the marble counter. He reached for it fearfully, not wanting to read it, but he had to, of course.

He read the note quickly three times, and then let it drop from his hand like an abandoned feather, wafting to the ground. He now knew three more things about his relationship with Summer. Firstly, last night was just a one night stand. Secondly, she was obviously more into Seth, and thirdly, she had his sweatshirt. Idly he wondered which one. He hoped it wasn't the Berkley one that he had stolen from Sandy, he loved that sweatshirt…

And then suddenly his brain processed what the note really meant. No more Ryan and Summer. It was over with a note, a few innocent words. Ryan buried his face in his hands, pushing the heel of his palms into his closed eyes. He stood there resolutely, and then he got dressed, slowly, carefully, avoiding looking at anything that he didn't have to.

Heading for the kitchen, Ryan realized that it was the Berkley sweatshirt. He knew, because there was Summer, wearing it shamelessly, watching as Seth showed her how to cream cheese a bagel properly. They looked so happy and innocent, her eyes bright, watching his, which would flicker up and look at her with a crooked smile in between schmears.

Ryan found himself walking. He didn't know where. His feet knew. His feet knew that he wanted to go to the beach, let the afternoon sun prey down on him. That's where he went.

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At the beach, Ryan pulled off his shoes, burying his toes into the soft, squishy sand as he made his way to his favorite spot. He saw someone else sitting there, but didn't pay attention to them until he realized who it was.

"Marissa?" He asked tentatively. She looked up, wiping tears from her face, and attempted to smile. He sat down next to her, listening to her sob until he couldn't help but try and comfort her, putting one careful arm around her shoulders, absently rubbing the skin on her upper arm.

Finally he spoke. "So, did you get dumped too?" Ryan asked softly, the corners of his mouth twitching up hopefully. She looked at him, straight in the eye, but she was seeing past him, through him, remembering.

_It must have been before six. Alex was already awake. Marissa woke up cold, desperately cold without her girlfriend's body near. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, to see that her bags were packed and stacked neatly against the wall. Alex was sitting in a chair across from her, watching._

"_Marissa."_

"_Are you kicking me out?" Marissa asked shrilly, rising to her feet, eyes wide, mouth agape. Alex wouldn't look her in the eye. "Wait, are you breaking up with me?"_

"_Marissa, we both know this isn't right for you. Not the apartment and not _us._ I think you should move back to your mom's house and forget about me. This is so wrong for you." Alex said quietly, finally looking Marissa in the eyes, eyes filled with tears._

_Marissa sniffled, but didn't say a word as she grabbed a pair of flip flops lying on the ground as she walked off, still in her sleeping attire of a baby blue tank top and short shorts. Marissa, like Ryan didn't know where she was going. She did know, however, that the beach was the only place where there were only happy memories, memories of curling up next to Ryan in the hot sun, of tanning with Summer, of watching Seth surf._

Their eyes met, and they said everything silently. Ryan smiled bitterly, and Marissa returned it exactly, burying her face into Ryan's chest, her salty tears running down his shoulder.

It was a long time before Ryan felt her tears stop. The sun was nearly touching the horizon beyond the sea when one of them spoke.

"We should go… home. We can go to my place, if you don't want to be alone." Ryan whispered softly, beginning to rise, dragging a limp Marissa with him. She smiled, this time without any bitterness, and grazed her lips against his. Neither felt any urge to do anything else, and as they walked back to the house, Ryan realized why. It was because, unlike his relationship with Summer or Seth or that whore at the party, he knew that he had time. Because this thing with Marissa, whatever it was, it was too strong to be broken, and it would always be there. There was time for other things later.

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Review! Please!


	8. The Circle is Completed

"God, this place is disgusting." Marissa complained, climbing into the rickety old attic of the Atwood house.

"More the reason to get all this stuff out of here. We're going to have to eventually anyways…" Ryan replied, trying to make a pathway through the tall stacks of boxes.

"What is even in all of them?" Marissa asked uncertainly, reaching for a rusty old spatula, which ended up knocking over one of the largest boxes. It toppled to the floor, spilling out multitudes of photos.

"Pictures, I guess. Hey, this is senior year…" Marissa looked over at the photograph that Ryan was holding. They were all squeezed together, wearing bathing suits and their graduation hats. Summer and Seth's were distinctly different from Ryan and Marissa's hats.

"_Summer I am so jealous." Marissa complained, absently applying sunscreen to her shoulders._

_Summer looked up from the magazine she was reading briefly. "Why?"_

"_Your hats are so much prettier than ours." Marissa replied, eying Summer's deep blue square hat mournfully._

"_Well, Harbor versus Newport Union money-wise isn't much of a competition." Ryan said, twirling his own hat in his hands._

"_Why are you guys even talking about this? We are wearing them for like, ten seconds so the Sand Man can take a picture and then we stuff them in boxes, never to see them again until our children ship us to nursing homes." Seth added. "Plus, it's not so good for the Jew-fro."_

_Ryan raised his eyebrows, shook his head, and then turned back to Marissa. "I'll buy you a hat that you may actually wear again."_

_Marissa smiled perkily. "Really?"_

"_Anything for you."_

"This place…"

"It looks just like my old place."

"Yeah." Ryan said in awe, boxes under his arms as he looked around the new house. He put them down carefully and looked outside.

"Well, the important thing is that it's close to Jimmy." Marissa said, sniffling. Ryan glanced over at her nervously, but Marissa already had rebounded.

"I'm fine, really. Let's look around."

"I'll bet this place doesn't have _half _the stuff that our old place did." Ryan said sorrowfully.

Marissa chuckled. "Oh really. Like what?"

"Oh you know, termites, bad plumbing, and an outstanding view of a drugstore." Ryan said breezily with a smile, wrapping his arm around Marissa.

"Not going to miss those things. I'll always miss that house… But my dad has cancer… we really have to be here."

"Anything for you."

**Do you get it? The circle? Put it in your review if you do.**

**Sorry if it sucks though. It's late, and I realized how very long it's been.**


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